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El Palauet Living Barcelona: Spanish Art Nouveau boutique hotel. Where to buy Goth clothes, skeleton dress!

barcelona art design luxury hotel

La Carmina loves Barcelona! Finally, I have a chance to catch up on work and share my recent travels in Spain. My film team and I flew into Barcelona, and rode around the country on Eurail train passes.

Long-term readers of this blog know that I’m an Art Nouveau obsessive — so it was a dream come true to stay with El Palauet Living, a masterpiece of decadent Catalan architecture.

purple red ombre hair, la carmina haircolor

We couldn’t resist shooting fashion photos in the curvacious lobby and suites. In this post, I’ll also reveal my favorite places to purchase Gothic clothing — including skeleton dresses and spiky shoes!

modernista historical building barcelona

When we first saw photos of El Palauet hotel, my team and I were mesmerized. We simply had to stay here.

The five-story mansion, built in 1906, is located on one of the city’s most beautiful boulevards. Two of Gaudi’s buildings are on the same street, including the skull-like Casa Batllo.

(Address: Passeig de Gràcia 113, Barcelona, Spain, 08008)

barcelona passeig de gracia catalan architecture

The photos say it all. El Palauet is a magnificent example of Modernisme: the flowing, ornate, Catalan version of Art Nouveau.

Principal Tibidabo suite, el palauet

I’m sure you are wondering about my outfit, so let’s chat about fall Gothic fashion before we go inside…

● I’m wearing my new skeleton dress from Rat Baby Clothing. I paired it with a translucent vintage blue dress, and YRU platform shoes. The bag is from the hotel, and I used it during the entire trip.

 

gothic high heel spike shoes

I’m a fan of Rat Baby, an alternative clothing brand inspired by rock music and Gothic styling. They also make the most delicious shoes, with lightning bolts and spikes.

● Shop their footwear below — the prices are pretty, pretty, pretty good! 

witch hooded dress, killstar

Now that fall has arrived, I’ve been looking at new wardrobe pieces. I can’t get enough of this Killstar hooded witchy dress with dangling sleeves. It can double as a costume for Halloween.

● Pick up this dress online: they make a bodycon version (left) and skater skirt version (right).

skeleton sexy dress, rat baby apparel

Or how about a skeleton dress, like mine? I picked out my favorites, at various price points, below:

leather goth jackets

In my mind, fall is leather jacket weather. I’ve got my eye on the following:

1) Sigil jacket: what glorious symbols! Get it from Killstar
2) This rocker-style one is a steal, at only $48 
3) I love my hooded leather jacket, similar to this

goth backpacks, gothic bags

Finally, for those going back to school (or back to Ghoul)… I thought you’d dig these Gothic backpacks.

4) Witch occult backpack
5) Circular Goth bag
6) Luna the cat from Sailor Moon! 

art nouveau buildings, barcelona architecture

Back to the “Palauet”, which means a small palace in Catalan. The hotel is right next to this elegant facade: Modernism was truly a glorious era for design.

barcelona 5-star luxury hotel suites

The architect of this building is Pere Falqués, a contemporary of Antoni Gaudí. He’s famous for his stylized lampposts and mosaic benches on this exclusive street, Passeig de Gràcia.

el palauet living barcelona entrance

Now a hotel, El Palauet Living Barcelona keeps the rich, decorative history alive.

catalonian modern architecture palace

All of the original ceilings, wood carvings and tiles have been restored to perfection. The lobby is a work of art, with details like peephole windows and stained glass.

(My hair color and cut are by Stephanie Hoy of Stratosphere in downtown Vancouver.)

rose painted spanish ceiling

Don’t forget to look up, lest you miss out on the rose-painted, swirling ceiling. 

glass rotunda barcelona

During the early 20th century, Art Nouveau took on a distinct character in different European regions. In Catalonia, the style had a bold and patriotic feeling.

spain modernism architecture art nouveau

Curves, rich handcrafted details, and organic forms are major themes.

antique grape shaped lamp chandelier

This antique chandelier, which mimics the shape of grapes, drew my attention.

barcelona carved wood staircase bannister

If there was really a “stairway to heaven,” it would look like this carved wooden wonder. (El Palauet also has a fun old-fashioned elevator, where you squeeze inside and close the metal gate by hand.)

art nouveau windows, apartment barcelona

The hotel has six spacious apartments, which merge Modernism with 21st-century amenities. 

We stayed in the two-bedroom Principal Tibidabo suite. When we first walked in, we couldn’t get over the high ceilings and semi-circular lounge!

el palauet living suite

This is my Art Nouveau apartment of dreams. The floral stained glass window has views of the Convent of Pompeii and Tibidabo Mountain.

elegant luxury apartments barcelona

All of El Palauet’s suites come with a fully stocked kitchen, dining and living room, and balconies or terraces that overlook Barcelona. The magic is in the elegant details, such as these sliding doors to the two bedrooms.

beautiful hotel interiors

These interiors feel clean and modern, thanks to designer furniture by Eero Saarinen, Philippe Starck, Knoll and others.

heart art nouveau carved ceiling

The minimal-modern decor harmonizes surprisingly well with the historic stucco ceilings.

occult sigil gothic dress

El Palauet also equips the apartments with touch-screen panels, which we used to turn lights off and on, and play music. They also offer guests a personal assistant.

(My white 90-style shoes are by YRU. They always have fabulous footwear, including the rainbow platforms below.)

 

goth model, occult gothic fashion

We played around with the beauty lighting in the bathrooms. (Photos by Borderless Media)

modern spanish bathtub

The bathtub looks like a modern art piece, and is surrounded by flower light projections that change color. 

white jellyfish ceiling lamp

Love this lotus-meets-jellyfish lamp.

makeup mirror beauty lighting

Can you see my ribcage? (I might get this skeleton-sweater for colder weather).

curved art nouveau sculptures

I’m sure you now understand why El Palauet is my fantasy apartment! I have a new appreciation for Spanish Modernisme / Art Nouveau after staying here.

el palauet lobby, lounge

Thanks also to Visit Spain and Eurail for making our travels possible, and to Blacklane Limousines for the transportation. I’ll get off the couch and take you around Barcelona’s hippest districts next. 

barcelona designer hotels, espana

What do you think of my skull-and-bones dress? Which of these below Goth designs would you add to your closet? 

SHARE & COMMENT

40 Comments

  1. MelissaR
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 9:18 pm | Permalink

    Wonderful photos! And omg I need all these clothes and shoes for real haha! So cool!

  2. Grace
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 11:42 pm | Permalink

    So lovely!! Grace

  3. Leanne
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 11:42 pm | Permalink

    Fab architecture, & LOVE the clothing & footwear in this post!!

  4. Didymus
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 11:42 pm | Permalink

    beautiful hotel and shoes as always!

  5. Didymus
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 11:42 pm | Permalink

    Plus pairing the blue mesh dress with your skeleton dress was a great idea!

  6. Julian
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 11:42 pm | Permalink

    where is the skull?!

  7. Asa
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 11:42 pm | Permalink

    very cool!

  8. Harriet
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 11:43 pm | Permalink

    ^_^ cutie

  9. SamSSS
    Posted October 4, 2015 at 11:43 pm | Permalink

    Thank you! :-)

  10. Tarrag
    Posted October 5, 2015 at 7:09 pm | Permalink

    The dress is everything and more.

  11. freida
    Posted October 5, 2015 at 7:10 pm | Permalink

    A dream hotel and girl.

  12. Vlog Val
    Posted October 5, 2015 at 7:10 pm | Permalink

    OOOOO LOVE

  13. Gulnara Dreaming-kitten Gallya
    Posted October 5, 2015 at 9:16 pm | Permalink

    I have been in Barcelona…but i see thisw city from the bus! damn hate this when…my plans not performed

    • lacarmina
      Posted October 7, 2015 at 12:06 am | Permalink

      Aww I hope you can go next time! I love this city, it’s my second time here!

  14. Kimberley M
    Posted October 5, 2015 at 11:21 pm | Permalink

    nice look and great colors

  15. Lindworm
    Posted October 5, 2015 at 11:21 pm | Permalink

    this combo is magical <3 love the bright blue! you are so pretty

  16. Khalil
    Posted October 5, 2015 at 11:22 pm | Permalink

    Love it <3

  17. Seymour
    Posted October 5, 2015 at 11:23 pm | Permalink

    Gosh! GREAT

  18. Darky
    Posted October 7, 2015 at 7:47 pm | Permalink

    かっこい!

  19. Sayam
    Posted October 7, 2015 at 7:48 pm | Permalink

    Nice Pics from Barcelona

  20. Darran
    Posted October 7, 2015 at 7:48 pm | Permalink

    (。◕ˇ_ˇ◕。)

  21. El Palauet
    Posted October 7, 2015 at 7:48 pm | Permalink

    brings gothic chic to El Palauet Living Barcelona! Thank you for the great post :-) http://

  22. Soldado
    Posted October 7, 2015 at 7:49 pm | Permalink

    Awesome Look (fanned))♥

  23. Lavon
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 5:10 am | Permalink

    Beautiful! The colors are so vivid and uplifting!

  24. Lauren
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 5:43 pm | Permalink

    Love the dressssss

  25. ADG
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 8:07 pm | Permalink

    You look beautiful! That hair color is perfect!

  26. Styletravel
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 8:07 pm | Permalink

    Love it, check my blog
    Styletravel

  27. Susie
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 8:08 pm | Permalink

    Art nouveau is my passion, have you seen the pandora girl’s blog from france, remind me a bit of this.

    bisous

  28. Don
    Posted October 8, 2015 at 10:59 pm | Permalink

    :)

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